In a 911 call from the morning of Dwayne Haskins’ death, the quarterback’s wife said that he was walking along the highway because his car ran out of gas.
The 911 call was obtained and reported by Miami-based Fox Sports reporter Andy Slater on Wednesday morning. Slater also obtained a 911 call from a witness who said she saw Haskins get hit by a dump truck.
NEW: 911 audio from the morning Dwayne Haskins tragically died on a South Florida road.
— Andy Slater (@AndySlater) April 20, 2022
One of the calls is from his concerned wife in Pittsburgh after she says she just spoke to him. pic.twitter.com/yoAWsHJbiG
Haskins’ wife, Kalabrya, called 911 from Pittsburgh, telling the operator that she was talking to Haskins on the phone that morning when he said he would call her back once he returned to his car.
“He was stuck on the side of the highway. He had to go walk and get gas, and then he said he’d return to his car on the highway,” Kalabrya told the operator. “We were on the phone and he said he’d call me back. But I kept calling and kept calling. He wasn’t answering. Eventually, after 10 minutes of calling the phone, eventually it cut off. It’s not working now. I had his location. I just want somebody to go in the area and see if his car is there and if he’s OK and if anything happened to him.”
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The operator on the call told Haskins’ wife that there was an incident on the highway, but they could not confirm whether it was her husband. Kalabrya then asked if they had a description of the person and was told to “hang tight” while units arrived on the scene.
The calls are the first to be released since Haskins’ death on April 9. According to Florida Highway Patrol, the 24-year-old was hit by a dump truck at 6:37 a.m. when he was trying to cross the westbound lanes of Interstate 595. Haskins was reported dead at the scene.
Few details have been released related to Haskins’ death. The Florida Highway Patrol has said there remains an ongoing investigation into the incident, but that no details would be shared until it is completed. Typically, investigations take about 90 days, a spokeswoman for the Highway Patrol told multiple outlets.
Last week, local Florida resident Chris Stanley told NBC 6 South Florida that he believes he saw Haskins on the highway minutes before the crash. Stanley said he saw a man, believed to be Haskins, raising his arms up while appearing to drift further into the highway.
“He was about halfway, to a quarter way in the right lane, already onto the highway and I was already concerned that somebody was going to strike him right there at that moment,” Stanley told the outlet.
Stanley said he called 911 at 6:31 a.m. — six minutes before the highway patrol said the accident was reported. Stanley said he did not see a vehicle near Haskins and could not tell why he was on the highway.
“That’s why it’s just very disturbing,” he said. “I just didn’t understand the situation.”
Haskins, Washington’s first-round pick in 2019, was training with his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates in South Florida.
Funeral services will be held for Haskins in the coming days.
Kalabyra Haskins, in a statement from the Steelers, said there will be a celebration of her husband’s life on Friday at Allegheny Center Alliance Church in Pittsburgh, with a visitation from 9 to 11 a.m. followed by a celebration of life service from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The next day, Haskins’ family will hold a memorial at noon at Christ Church in Rockaway Township, New Jersey. Then on Sunday, services will occur at Bullis School — Haskins’ high school — in Potomac, Maryland, at 7 p.m.
“I want to thank everyone for their continuous outpour of kindness and love for my husband during this extremely difficult time,” Kalabrya Haskins said in a statement Tuesday.
• Jacob Calvin Meyer can be reached at jmeyer@washingtontimes.com.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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